Lizzie Douglas was born on June 3, 1897 in Algiers, Louisiana. She was the eldest from her 13 other siblings. Her parents Abe and Gertrude Douglas nicknamed her the Kid during her early childhood. At the age of 7 she and her family moved to Walls, Mississippi, which was just south of Memphis. The following year after she moved, she received her first guitar for Christmas. She began to practice and learn how to play both the banjo and the guitar and it was seen that she had a great talent as a musician. When she first began performing she did not use her first name Lizzie, but played under the name Kid Douglas. When she was 13 years old she ran away from her home to live on Beale Street in Memphis, Tennessee. She would play on street corners for most of her teenage years and would eventually go home when she ran out of money. She began to get noticed singing and playing guitar on the street corners. This brought an opportunity for her to tour, travel, and play with the Ringling Brothers Circus. Eventually she came back to Beale Street and got consumed in the blues scene. At the time, women, whiskey, and cocaine were high in demand with the people and places she would be around. She made her money by playing guitar, singing, and prostitution, which was not uncommon at the time. Most of the female performers were prostitutes because of financial desperation. It was said “She received $12 for her services-an outrageous fee for the time.” (Memphis Minnie Biography,1). She was known as a woman that was very strong and that could take care of herself.
She had been married three times in her life; first with Will Weldon sometime in the 1920s, then Joe McCoy (1929–1934), and finally to Earnest Lawlars (a.k.a. Little Son Joe), in 1939. She and McCoy would perform together during their marriage. During this time, a talent scout from Columbia Records discovered her. When she and McCoy went to record in New York, she decided to change her name to Memphis Minnie. During the next few years she and McCoy released many singles and duets. She released the song “Bumble Bee” in 1930, which ended up being one of her favorite songs, and led her to a recording contract with the label Vocalion. Under this label, they continued to produce recording for two years, one of them being “I’m Talking About You”, which was one of her more popular songs. They soon decided to leave Vocalion and move to Chicago. She and McCoy introduced country blues to the urban environment and became very well known.
Memphis Minnie continued to have success throughout the years recording under many different labels like Decca Records and Chess Records. Some believe her fame was the reason for her divorce with McCoy due to jealousy and resentment towards her. She remarried after to Earnest Lawlars (a.k.a. Little Son Joe) and began recording material with him. She became very well known in the blues industry and ended up being one of the most famous blues performers of all time, competing with both men and women.
She continued to record throughout the 50’s, but her health began to become a problem for her. She retired from her musical career and ended up going back to Memphis. “Periodically, she would appear on Memphis radio stations to encourage young blues musicians. As the Garons wrote in Women With Guitar, 'She never laid her guitar down, until she could literally no longer pick it up.'” She suffered a stroke in 1960, which caused her to be bound by wheelchair. The following year her husband, Earnest “Little Son Joe” Lawlars died. She had another stroke a short while after and eventually ended up in the Jell Nursing Home. She could no longer survive on her social security income so magazines wrote about her and readers sent her money for assistance. On August 6, 1973 she died of a stroke. She was buried in an unmarked grave at the New Hope Cemetery in Memphis. A headstone paid for by Bonnie Raitt was erected by the Mt. Zion Memorial Fund on October 13, 1996 with 35 family members in attendance including her sister, numerous nieces (including Laverne Baker) and nephews. Her headstone is marked:
Lizzie "Kid" Douglas Lawlers
aka Memphis Minnie
The inscription on the back of her gravestone reads:
"The hundreds of sides Minnie recorded are the perfect material to teach us about the blues. For the blues are at once general, and particular, speaking for millions, but in a highly singular, individual voice. Listening to Minnie's songs we hear her fantasies, her dreams, her desires, but we will hear them as if they were our own."
After her death some of her old work began to surface and some of her songs were featured on blues compilations. She was one of the first 20 blues artists that were inducted in the Blues Hall of Fame.
It's hard to please my man
Memphis Minnie Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You keep me thinking, and wondering all the time
Oh people it's so hard, to please that man of mine
I combs his hair, I washes his feet
And when I think it works, he's out strolling the street
That keep me thinking, and wondering all the time
Oh people it's so hard, to please that man of mine
Last night he started an argument, he dared poor me to grunt
Then taken my last dollar, to make his girl friend drunk
That keep me thinking, and wondering all the time
Oh people it's so hard, to please that man of mine
"Won't be long now"
I ain't going to give you my money, and don't know what it's all about
Soon as I get cold in hand, you be ready to kick me out
That keep me thinking, and wondering all the time
Oh people it's so hard, to please that man of mine
The lyrics of Memphis Minnie's song "It's Hard to Please My Man" tell the story of a woman struggling to satisfy her man. The first two lines set the tone for the rest of the song, emphasizing her frustration and confusion. She is constantly thinking and wondering how to please her man and keep him satisfied. But no matter what she does, it seems impossible to please him.
The next two lines describe how she takes care of him, combing his hair and washing his feet, but her efforts are in vain as he goes out strolling the street. The repetition of the first two lines emphasizes her constant frustration and inability to figure out how to make him happy.
In the third verse, she describes how he starts an argument with her and dares her to grunt, then takes her last dollar to buy his girlfriend a drink. Again, she is left wondering what she could have possibly done to please him and keep him faithful. The final verse describes her refusal to give him any more money, knowing that as soon as she is broke, he will kick her out.
Overall, the lyrics of "It's Hard to Please My Man" convey the idea of a woman who is constantly struggling to keep her man happy, but who ultimately realizes that nothing she does will ever be enough.
Line by Line Meaning
You keep me thinking, and wondering all the time
My man is so unpredictable that I am always left wondering what will please him
Oh people it's so hard, to please that man of mine
It is difficult to make my man happy
I combs his hair, I washes his feet
I take good care of him and attend to his needs
And when I think it works, he's out strolling the street
Despite my efforts, my man is still unsatisfied and looks for satisfaction outside
Last night he started an argument, he dared poor me to grunt
My man is abusive and starts arguments for no reason
Then taken my last dollar, to make his girl friend drunk
He uses my money to impress his other women
"Won't be long now"
He is threatening me with his imminent departure
I ain't going to give you my money, and don't know what it's all about
I refuse to give him my money as he has no clear intention for it
Soon as I get cold in hand, you be ready to kick me out
He will only keep me around as long as I am useful to him and is ready to discard me when I am no longer of value
Writer(s): kansas joe mccoy, memphis minnie
Contributed by Caleb M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.